You Can Avoid Common Implementation Issues … If You Know What They Are

The eBook recently published by Strategic Systems Group (SSG) is an FAQ resource. It provides in-depth answers to “12 Frequently Asked Questions about Enterprise Resource Planning Systems” for manufacturers. In Chapter 10, we explore common ERP implementation issues.

You Can Avoid Common Implementation Issues … If You Know What They Are

The only way to avoid common implementation issues is if you know what they are, ahead of time! What could be better than having a crystal ball? Use this chapter as your crystal ball – a guide to the issues that commonly occur. In other words: forewarned is forearmed.

It sounds simple enough. But the reality is that most consulting firms don’t want to tell you about everything that could go wrong when implementing a new ERP system, for fear that you would then back out of the project. At SSG, we take the opposite approach. We want you to know what could go wrong. We want you to be educated consumers. And we’ve put it all in writing in this chapter of our eBook. So please, accept this as our gift to you, whether you ultimately use our services, or not.

We’ve identified what we believe to be the top 8 issues to watch out for. Here you have them:

Underestimating the Scope of the Overall Project

Not Preparing for Continuous Change Management

Underestimating the Cost of the Overall Project

Insufficient Pilot Testing

Not Defining a Fallback Position

Not Learning from Earlier Phases to Make the Subsequent Phases Easier

Not Getting a Fast ROI from the Earlier Phases

Not Measuring Overall ROI

Let’s take a quick look at a few of the above.

Underestimating the Scope of the Original Project

This is an issue that can have a negative impact on the project right from the start. Because if you think the system implementation is going to be finished at “go live,” you’re in for a surprise. In general, after a system goes live there is often work that was planned for in the subsequent phases of the project and, unfortunately, work that wasn’t planned for at all. It is difficult to predict and address every scenario in which something might go wrong. But the first few weeks after the ERP system goes live are often the most critical.

What you need to understand when you scope out the project is that going live doesn’t mean the end of the consultant’s engagement. There’s always a level of post go-live support that is needed. To avoid unpleasant surprises, make sure that this is included (and budgeted for) within the scope of the original project.

Insufficient Pilot Testing

The old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” applies here. In other words, a little precaution is preferable to a lot of fixing up afterward. An issue that falls into the prevention category is pilot testing. The consulting team should coordinate at least two conference room pilot tests. The basic idea of the first pilot test is to work with some data that was manually keyed in. The objective of the second pilot test is to work with data that has been migrated from the previous application.

To learn more about the issues that can occur so you can be both forewarned and forearmed …